Pluto and Charon Explorer Post 1010
Engineering Exploring Program
Launch - November 21, 2015		 New Horizon Spacecraft

Project Home

On Monday, November 21, members from teams 1639 and 1640.traveled to the Great Meadow launch site for test flights. The day was clear, nice, with wind under 10mph. We used the NOVAAR provided launch rails. We conducted 7 flights.

Objectives

  • Test flights of all our team rockets.
  • Refine our motor selection
  • Try different chute sizes and types

Lessons

  • The F44 seemed to be a good match for this year, but it does take off very fast. A weight around 445g seems about best,
  • The ignition of the F24 had too many sputters. We need to eliminate this issue.
  • We had no issues with eggs breaking or recovery of rockets.
  • The NOVAAR launch rails may be a problem. Too much inconsistent adjustments. We should try our rail to see if that reduces issues.
Turquoise Rocket

Launches

Team Rocket Flight Motor Weight Alt Recovery Altitude Time Comment
1639 Black (video) 1 F24-7W 435g 10 18" 664ft 35sec sputter ignition, late ejection
1639 Black (video) 2 F24-7W 434g 10 18" 921ft 52sec sputter ignition, late ejection
1639 Red (video) 1 F24-7W 439g 10 17"hex 832ft 46sec late ejection
1639 Turquoise (video) 1 E30-7T 409g 7 18"X 674ft 36sec under-powered
1639 Turquoise (video) 2 F44-8W 457g 7 18"X 805ft 38sec  
1640 Blue/Gold (video) 1 F44-8W 455g 1 18"X 815ft 38sec curved flight
1640 Blue/Gold (video) 2 F44-8W 455g 1 18"X 834ft 44sec sputter ignition, straight flight

Altimeter Data (Excel format)
Flight Data Chart

Pictures

  Team 1639                                                                                 Team 1639 (another picture)
  Team 1639     Team 1639

  Team 1640                                                                                  Loading Rocket
  Team 1640      Loading Rocket
Copyright 2015 Explorer Post 1010
Updated: November 30, 2015